MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday vowed there would be no throwback to Stalin-era repression in Russia as he sought to bolster his image as the country’s unchallenged strongman in the first nationwide phone-in of his new Kremlin term.
Putin, 60, sought to show during the almost five-hour question-and-answer marathon that he remains in control of the country since returning to the presidential post in May 2012 in the face of unprecedented protests against his 13-year rule.
By contrast with a 2011 phone-in, when in an off-key remark he compared the opposition’s white ribbons to condoms, Putin yesterday showed off his genial mood and calmly faced a series of questions about the protest movement. “I do not see any elements of Stalinism” under his rule, Putin told a cherry-picked audience including decorated officers, rural paramedics and Soviet-era celebrities.
“Stalinism is linked to the cult of personality, mass violations of the law, repressions and camps. There is nothing like this in Russia and, I hope, never will be again,” Putin said. But he added: “This does not mean that we should not have order and discipline.”
Since the start of his third term, Putin has all but dismantled any lingering legacy of his younger predecessor Dmitry Medvedev, who had briefly raised hopes of a liberal transformation of Russia. In what critics say was a bid to quash dissent, Putin pushed through a string of tough laws expanding the definition of treason and requiring non-governmental groups with international funding to register as “foreign agents”.
Just as Putin fielded questions from Sochi on the Black Sea to Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre to the Far East, a Moscow court jailed a prominent activist, Konstantin Lebedev, for two-and-a-half years over his involvement in an opposition rally last year. Also, a polls monitor Golos was given a $13,000 fine for refusing to register as a “foreign agent”, while top critic Alexei Navalny, who faces up to 10 years in prison, was standing trial on what he says are trumped-up charges.
Putin stressed however that no-one in Russia was being persecuted for their political views. “Everyone who breaks the law should be held responsible,” he said, insisting that Navalny’s trial would be fair. Putin also expressed hope that the Boston marathon bombings blamed on two suspects of Chechen origin would result in closer cooperation between Moscow and Washington. “I hope this tragedy pushes us closer to one another in stopping shared threats,” Putin said.
But he also slammed Washington for adopting legislation targeting Russians involved in the 2009 prison death of anti-corruption whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky. “They simply needed to puff out their chests,” he said.
Putin faced a barrage of questions but he shot down speculation that Medvedev’s cabinet would be soon shown the door, despite growing concerns about the economy which only grew 1.1 percent this year. AFP
